Murder at the Toy Store
by Charlie O'Kelley
Summary: There is a murder at a toy store and it's a juicy one... Rated M for adult themes and smut. ***Yes, I leave it at some bad parts for some chapters but I promise, I will have the juicy parts soon. At least, I am posting a part each day***
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Welcome to my new, slightly um, naughty story. This story deals with adult themes such as masturbation, sexual aids, and phone sex. If this isn't your thing or you are underage, leave now. If you aren't sure, give it a try, it's not blatant smut, I think. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Murder at the Toy Store<strong>

"Beckett, a body dropped. Sounds like a freaky one," Ryan called out to his boss as they all grabbed for their jackets.

"What's freaky about it?" she asked.

"It's at a toy store," Ryan said with a little smile.

"Castle will love this one," she said as she dialed his number.

"Yes, I am sure he will," Ryan said his smile getting bigger.

They drove to the address that was given and Beckett turned to glare at Ryan as soon as they all stepped out of their respective cars. "A toy store, Ryan? A toy store!"

"Well, technically it is," he looked at her with his wide-eyed innocent look.

"And you had to let me call Castle, didn't you? I hope you enjoy doing paperwork for the next month," she stormed away from the car, slamming the door on Ryan's chuckle.

"Bro, you got a death wish?" Esposito asked Ryan over the hood of their car. "A toy store?"

"It is a toy store."

"An adult toy store! You know that Beckett is probably going to strangle Castle over this one."

Esposito just shook his head and walked into the store. Knowing that he was on thin ice, Ryan stayed outside and looked for any clues and talked to anyone that might have seen anything.

x-x-x-x

"Tell me you didn't call Castle about this one," Lanie said as Beckett walked up to her.

"Ryan said it was a toy store. He didn't tell me what kind of toy store. Otherwise I never would have mentioned it," she said annoyed as she looked around the store. "Trust me."

"Writer Boy is going to have a field day with this one. Our vic here is Paula Schmitt, 26, she worked here at the store. Owner, Lisa Strother, came in this morning and found her like this." Lanie explained as she took her back to the body sprawled across the floor with the contents of one of the shelves scattered about her. Kate looked around trying to pick up any clues when she heard Castle's voice.

"So what happened here, Esposito," Castle asked.

"Go around the corner and you tell me," Esposito responded.

"Wait, wait don't tell me. She was vibrated to death," he said as he came closer before he turned down the aisle and saw the body covered with sex toys. "Oh my God, I was right."

"Grow up, Castle," she said hiding her amusement well as he pouted.

"Do you really think I could pass that up? I mean, look at this place," he said gesturing around the store.

"What about it, Castle? It's a store, deal with it." She stood still looking around for any more clues or anything that might appear to be out of place not realizing that she was standing in front of a wall covered in sex toys. She turned and noticed Castle and Esposito wandering around talking quietly.

"You know she will kill you," Esposito said to Castle as he pulled out his phone to take pictures.

"Which one?" he asked with a grin looking between Lanie and Beckett.

"Both," Esposito said not looking away from Lanie.

"I'll send you copies," he said unable to resist taking photos of Lanie and Beckett with sex toys surrounding them.

"Good luck, bro."

x-x-x-x

"Lanie, what do we have?" Beckett asked as she ignored Castle wandering around looking at the shelves talking to Esposito.

"It looks like our vic hit her head against the shelves just the wrong way. Probably wasn't any way to save her."

"Accident or homicide? What do you think?"

"I think Writer Boy is taking pictures of us," Lanie dropped her voice to a whisper.

"I will kill him. Wanna help?" Beckett asked.

"No, I am going to torture Javi though," she said with a smirk.

"How are you going to do that?"

"Watch and learn, girlfriend. Watch and learn," she said softly before she raised her voice. "Not sure yet, I don't want to rule out homicide though. I'll know more when I get her back to the lab."

"Okay, let me know. Esposito, who called it in?" Beckett questioned as she glared at Castle who kept messing with things.

"Store owner, Lisa Strother," he said as they walked over to the blonde woman standing at the counter.

"So are you Naughty Lisa?" Castle asked in reference to the store's name, Naughty Lisa's.

"I run a store like this and you have to ask?" Lisa questioned Castle with one quirked eyebrow.

Beckett had to look away to hide the smile that was threatening to break through at Castle's obvious discomfort.

"So Ms. Strother, what did you see when you came in this morning?"

"The front door was only partially locked. We have the knob lock then the deadbolt. The deadbolt wasn't locked."

"Did you suspect any foul play?"

"No. There have been times that one of us forgets to throw the deadbolt but it doesn't happen often."

"Tell me about Paula."

"She was my best sales lady," she said ignoring the snicker from Castle. "She was knowledgeable about the product, she was friendly, and people just liked her."

"Did she have any disgruntled customers?"

"No, she was well liked."

"How well liked?" Castle interjected.

"This isn't that kind of place. She was friendly and helpful but she never went over that line," Lisa insisted, a bit insulted that Castle would suggest otherwise.

"Did Paula have a boyfriend?" Beckett asked, trying to ignore Castle.

"Up until about a month ago, yes. He got orders to ship out to Iraq and they decided to end it instead of dealing with a long distance relationship. It was mutual and amicable."

"Do you have her emergency contact information?"

"Yes, it's in my office. I'll be right back," she said as she walked away from the counter to her office.

"I'm just curious, Beckett. With so many um 'styles' to choose from how does a woman ever decide?"

Castle asked as he looked at the wall with nearly unlimited variety of shapes, sizes, colors and styles of adult toys.

"I've always preferred the trial and error method myself," Lanie said as she walked by following the body.

"What?" Esposito croaked. Lanie looked at him and cocked one eyebrow.

"Lanie, don't tease them, you know they can't handle it."

"Beckett, I bet they will be 'handling it' before the day is over," she said with an amused smile as she gave Esposito the once over.

"You're probably right. Besides, everyone knows that this kind is the nicest," Kate said as she seemingly randomly choose a toy and dropped it in Castle's hands before accepting the paper that Lisa handed out to her as she walked back up. "Thank you. We will keep you informed about the case as much as we can."

Beckett turned and walked out of the store with Lanie, leaving Castle and Esposito speechless.

"Your girlfriend was right, this is one of the nicest," Lisa commented on the vibrator that Castle held in his hand. Once he realized he was still holding it, he dropped it on the counter. "One of our best sellers."

"Whoa! This thing is over $100," Esposito called out.

"And most ladies say it is worth every penny. Can I box one up for you? I'll even give you a discount."

"I don't have $100," Esposito said still embarrassed.

"Probably for the best. A lot of men can't 'handle it' when their partners use sex toys," Lisa said.

"I can handle it, I just don't have the extra money right now," Esposito said glancing over to Castle.

"I'll pay," he said.

"And would you like one for your girlfriend too?" Lisa asked.

"Hey, Castle," Ryan said as he walked into the store. "Beckett said she didn't want to wait for you, so you can ride back with us."

"Okay," he said to Ryan before turning back to Lisa's question. "And , uh, yes," Castle said, ignoring Esposito's eyebrow shoot up.

"Buying something?" Ryan asked with a smirk.

"And one for him too," Castle said.

"Thanks, Castle. I've wanted to get Jenny one of these," Ryan said.

"What?" Castle and Esposito both asked shocked. Ryan kept his innocent look but didn't say anything.

"Finally, a guy who isn't afraid to show his girlfriend a little fun," Lisa said.

"Fiancée, actually. And thanks, I try," he smiled at her.

She finished ringing up the sale and even tossed in a couple of freebies for each of them.

"So why are you buying us sex toys, Castle?" Ryan finally asked when they got back to the car.

"Beckett and Lanie were talking about them and Beckett said that this kind was the best,"

Esposito said to Ryan before glaring in the rearview mirror to glare at Castle. "I don't know why he bought three of them though."

"Three?" Ryan asked.

"He bought one for Beckett," Esposito practically growled.

"Finally, going to make your move Castle?"

"What? No. She said that was the best so I just thought I would surprise her."

"I bet you will."

x-x-x-x

They all went back to the precinct and the guys were pleased that Beckett was downstairs talking with Lanie about the case. They hid their purchases in their desks and hoped that no one would go in there.

Lanie had hardly started the autopsy but she had noticed that there was some bruising on the victim's arms, as if someone grabbed her and tossed her into the shelves.

"So Lanie, are you going to have any more fun with Esposito?"

"As much as I can this weekend. I might even have to pull out something I usually keep hidden," she said with an evil little smile.

"And what might that be?" Beckett asked pretty sure what the response was going to be.

"Bob."

"Bob?" she asked not having expected that response.

"Yep, Bob, B-O-B. Battery Operated Boyfriend." They both laughed.

"Bob, never thought of that one. Just don't scare the poor guy too much, Lanie. You know he can't handle it."

"And I told you already that he will be handling it before the night is out. Bet Castle will too."

"I wouldn't know about that," Beckett responded not meeting her friend's eyes.

"Too bad. You know I think he is do-able. For you, at least. I've got my hands full with a certain Hispanic detective."

"Too much information! I have to work with the guy, Lanie. And speaking of work, we need to go talk to the family. Uniforms have already talked to them once but I want to talk to them again."

"Okay. I'll send you a text if I come across anything else."

"Thanks, Lanie," she said as she walked to the door of the morgue.

"Hey Kate. If you didn't know about Bob, what do you call yours?"

"Easy. Dick," she said as she walked out the door.

"You know that's a nickname for Richard," Lanie called out.

"Shut up, Lanie," Becket's voice trailed off as she walked off down the hall.

x-x-x-x

"Mrs. Schmitt, once again I am sorry for your loss," Beckett said after introducing herself and Castle.

"Thank you," the mother of the victim said. "This is my son, Tony."

"Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt your daughter?"

"No, she was a sweet girl, everyone loved her."

"Did you know where she was working?" Beckett asked gently paying close attention to their reactions.

"A bakery, I think," said Mrs. Schmitt. "I can't remember what it was called."

"It was actually a shop that sold adult toys."

"Oh my. I guess that's why she never brought home any samples," she said with a hint of a smile causing Beckett and Castle to smile a bit also. Tony on the other hand, didn't look in any way amused.

"Tony, did you know where she worked?" Beckett asked.

"No," he said looking away from them.

"Are you sure?" asked Castle.

"Yeah. Why would my little sister work at a place like Naughty Lisa's anyway? She was a good girl."

"We never said the name of the store, Tony," Beckett said looking at him with great interest.

"What did you do, Tony?" asked his mother.

"Nothing. Do you know what kind of store that was, Mom? It was disgusting. It was a porn shop!"

"My daughter was working at a porn store?"

"No, ma'am. It is an adult store but they cater to women and couples, not just men. It's not a seedy shop that one has to be a pervert to go into."

"She sold porn!" Tony exclaimed. "And probably herself too. That's what I told her last night."

"Last night?" Mrs. Schmitt asked. "You said you were out with your friends."

"I was. We were hanging out and JJ told me that he saw Paula walk into that place. He waited around and she didn't come out. I figured that she had to be working there if she was inside for so long. So I went to talk to her about her behavior. She said she wasn't doing anything wrong but she was selling porn! I tried to make her understand she was ruining the family reputation but she didn't care," he said angrily.

"So you killed her?" Castle asked.

"No! I grabbed her arms so I could take her out of there but she refused. She yanked back and tripped and, and, she fell," he stuttered. "She hit her head. I didn't mean to hurt her."

"Tony," Mrs. Schmitt cried.

"I'm sorry Mom. She was ruining the family's name," he said with tears in his eyes.

"Tony Schmitt," Beckett said as she stood up and pulled out her handcuffs. "You are under arrest for the death of your sister. You have the right to remain silent…"


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes: I was originally going to have this part combined with part 1 but then when I broke up the rest of the story, the parts were much shorter. I decided to keep them all, at least vaguely, similar in size. Sorry that I forgot to put a note at the end of the first part explaining that.

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><p>Castle sat there in the family room with the distraught woman who lost both her children in one day. He handed her a box of tissues and quietly offered her a coffee. She refused both, just sitting there rather stunned at what all had just happened. She didn't speak until Beckett walked back in a few minutes later.<p>

"What's going to happen to my son?"

"The case will be presented to the D.A. and they will decide the charges. It could be accidental death, manslaughter, or murder. I really don't know what they will decide to do. He says it was an accident but he also left the scene and didn't report it."

"Thank you for telling me the truth. Was it a seedy place?"

"No ma'am. It was a nice place for couples or single women to go to. According to the shop owner, your daughter never touched a customer in an inappropriate fashion. She simply sold lingerie, movies, and toys."

"She was such a sweet girl and she always was helping people why would she want to work at a place like that?"

"She did help other people. As I said, the store was a nice one. They have a good reputation and is actually known around the city for couples with issues to go to."

"Issues?"

"Yes, a friend of mine's husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years ago. He had surgery and he is cancer free but impotent. They went to Lisa's to get something to keep the romance going," Beckett said hoping that she wouldn't have to go into detail. "They are still together. Lisa's is known to help people in those kinds of situations and others like that."

"So it's not just some trashy place? Have you been there before?" she asked.

"No, ma'am, and yes I have," Beckett stated hoping that Castle would keep his mouth shut.

"Thank you for being honest, detective."

"Not a problem, Mrs. Schmitt. Would you like me to walk you out?"

"Yes, thanks," she said again as she gathered up her jacket and purse.

They walked out and Castle decided to leave the women alone and grab a cup of coffee. He walked in and saw Ryan and Esposito drinking their coffee.

"I didn't expect this case to end this fast," Esposito commented.

"Neither did I," Ryan said.

"I still can't believe that you didn't tell Beckett what kind of toy store it was," Esposito said to Ryan.

"You didn't tell her?"

"No," Ryan said. "Do you actually think she would have called you if she knew what kind it was?"

"True. Oh, that reminds me, I need look at the pictures."

"What pictures?" asked Ryan.

"Writer Boy here took pictures of Beckett and Lanie in front of wall of sex toys. She's going to kill him."

"Which one?" Ryan asked.

"Both of them," Esposito stated simply.

"You better hope Lanie doesn't get mad with you too since you didn't stop me," Castle said with a smirk as the detective's smile disappeared.

"Lanie said we couldn't handle it. You ever watched a girlfriend, um, handling things, Castle?" Esposito asked as he poured some more coffee.

"No. You?"

"No. Never needed any of those things that we saw at the store today either."

"You mean to tell me that you've never gotten tired? And she still wants little more?" asked Ryan.

"No," they both insisted not really wanting to admit the actual truth.

"Hold up, that means you and Jenny-" Esposito didn't know how or if he wanted to continue that question.

"Will make good use of your gift this weekend, Castle. What?" He asked when he saw the looks on his friend's faces.

"You and Jenny-" Castle tried to ask but he also wasn't able to continue the question.

"Yes, we use adult toys," he laughed at the other men's expressions. "You know what the sexiest thing to watch is? The woman you love in the throes of passion." Both men nodded in agreement. "And who knows that woman's body better than you do?"

"We don't go into discussion of past history," Esposito said.

"That's not what I am talking about. The person who knows her body the best is her. She knows what she likes and how she likes it. You ought to try it sometime. You could learn something."

"Like what?" asked Esposito.

"Just watch her, pay attention see what she likes. Learn something."

"What are you guys talking about?" Kate asked as she walked into the break room.

"Perfecting observation skills," Castle said not meeting her eyes.

Kate just looked around and decided to leave it alone since something was obviously up. Both Esposito and Castle seemed rather nervous but Ryan wasn't. Usually, Ryan was the one who got nervous about things.

"Well, I am going to go head home. Need to do some observing this weekend," Ryan said with a smile as he got ready to leave for the day. Castle and Esposito just watched him, neither sure what to say or even think about finding out that the very Catholic Ryan and his fiancée liked adult toys.

"You know they always say it's the quiet ones you have to worry about," Esposito said as he gathered up his things also and called it a night. Soon, Beckett and Castle were the last ones in their area of the bullpen.

"You know, I think you handled her family very well, Beckett. You didn't try to shame them."

"Why would I? There is nothing to be ashamed of. She was helping people, granted in a different way than her family would have preferred but she still helped them."

"By selling them sex toys?" he asked incredulously.

"That place was nice. Have you seen some of those other places?"

"You have?" he nearly squeaked.

"I'm a New York City cop," she smiled at him. "Of course, I've seen them. No single young woman in her right mind would want to go into one of those places. This place is different."

"Have you been there before?" he asked after a moment. "I know you told Mrs. Schmitt you have but…"

She squinted her eyes slightly, debating on if she wanted to tell him the truth or not. "Once. Have you?"

"No. I don't need to buy anything. I have everything I need attached," he said as he flexed his fingers causing her to roll her eyes at him.

"Oh, women don't need to buy anything either, it's just fun to mix it up a bit sometimes."

"So you…" he tried to ask but knew that he really shouldn't.

"Yes," she smiled at his nervousness. "Do you?"

"Duh, I'm a man. I just didn't think you would, um."

"A girl gets lonely sometimes, Castle."

"Especially when Motorcycle Boy is in Africa?" he asked as he shifted in his seat again.

"Or on a late night shift," she said not bothering to tell him that they had broken up a week ago.

"What does he think about you, um, without him?" he asked not believing that they were actually having this conversation and that the thought of Kate Beckett, um, handling things by herself was getting him turned on.

"You just can't say it, can you?" she smiled as she sat back in her chair amused by his nervousness. "That's something we never really talked about."

"But you are telling me?" he asked as he lifted one ankle to his opposite knee. He hoped that she didn't realize that he was trying to hide something.

"Because it is so much fun watching you squirm."

"You are an evil woman, Kate Beckett. Evil. For that, I just might have to return your gift."

"What gift?" she asked suddenly unsure.

He simply cocked one eyebrow, smiled, grabbed his jacket, and stood up to leave. Kate noticed that he kept his jacket in front of him instead of putting it on and she had to wonder if there was a reason for that.

"Lower left desk drawer," he said as he turned around in the elevator. "Enjoy."

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><p>Author's Notes: Yes I know Beckett would probably never talk to Castle like this about this subject but I just couldn't help it. Besides, we never really see this side of the characters because the show isn't on HBO or something like that. Hope you all enjoyed, send me a review if you can, they always make my day! By the way, I am nearly finished with this story so I will probably be posting it rather quickly, once I get the last part done. Not that I know how many parts it will end up being, I haven't broken it all down yet. The next part will have Beckett's response to the gift.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Okay these next chapters are definitely shorter but I only did that because of how it fell in the story itself. Trust me you'll understand when you read it. BTW, I am loving all the reviews and alerts, thanks bunches!

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><p>She managed to wait until the doors closed before practically diving in to her drawer. She pulled out a bag and suspecting what it was, left it closed, if she was right, there is no way that she was going to open that bag up in the precinct, even if everyone else was gone. She finished up her paperwork a short time later and was ready to leave for the day. She gathered up her purse and the package she left.<p>

"What's in the bag, Kate?" Lanie asked surprising Kate as she walked to her car.

"I don't know. I haven't checked yet."

"I wonder if it is anything like what Javi gave me."

"What did he give you?" Kate asked before she could stop.

"He wouldn't let me peek. He took the package with him but I have my suspicions. He said he'll be coming over tonight with it," Lanie said with a smile. "So are you a bit freaking out about what might be in that bag?"

"I'm sure I know what's in this bag. And I am sure I will like it. It's just, that it's from Castle."

"Probably means it's a nice one," Lanie said.

"Lanie."

"What? Writer Boy has the money, he can afford it."

"But he shouldn't be buying me sex toys," she whispered the last two words.

"Why not?"

"I think you know why," Beckett said.

"When I was a kid, my parents always told me when someone gave me a gift, I should just say thank you and accept it." Beckett nodded but still had an uncertain look on her face. Lanie continued with a smirk, "Then, of course, you need to tell them how much you like the gift."

"I don't think so!"

"Well, I have a feeling that I will be thanking Javi quite a bit this weekend. I sure hope you don't mind a tired detective on Monday morning."

"Are you going to wear out Esposito?"

"I hope so, girlfriend. You have a good night too."

Kate went home and once her door was locked behind her, she ripped into the package and was not at all surprised at what she found. At least, she wasn't surprised to see a vibrator. She was rather shocked at which one he bought her. It was the one that she actually handed him. And that model was at least $100. She had wanted to buy one for herself but she had just never had the time or the extra cash to get it.

Her head told her that she really should not accept such a gift from him and to give it back but a certain other part of her really wanted to keep it. She looked at the box that extolled all the virtues of the toy and decided that she would keep it but she never had to tell Castle that. Kate decided if she was going to have a private date night, she figured that she might as well make it nice. She fixed a salad for dinner then took a nice long bubble bath. After she got out of the tub she dried off then reached for her usual pajamas before she changed her mind. Wearing only her robe, she reached into the closet for a box on the top shelf. She opened it up to show off-season clothes but she reached to the bottom and pulled out a man's blue button down shirt. She held it for a moment before she decided to put it on. As soon as the shirt was buttoned, her phone rang. Hoping that there wasn't a murder that she needed to take care of, she reached for the phone.

"So, Kate. Do you like your gift?" he asked her as he stretched out on his bed.

"Castle," she said a bit exasperated.

"You know, it's only polite to tell the gift giver how much you liked the gift." He could practically hear her roll her eyes through the phone.

"Thank you, Castle," she said sarcastically.

"So you do like it," he replied smugly as he snuggled more into his blankets.

"I haven't used it yet," she said quietly.

"Why not?" he asked surprised.

"I was hungry, I didn't have lunch so I wanted to have dinner."

"I wasn't interrupting anything then, was I?" he asked his voice dropping in timber when he thought about what he might have interrupted.

"I wouldn't have answered the phone if you were interrupting that, Castle."

"That's too bad."

"Why are you calling?"

"I wanted to see if you liked your gift."

"I already told you thank you. What more do you want?"

"Hearing how much you like it can't hurt."

"Just like I told Lanie earlier, I don't think you can handle that."

"Actually, I am handling that. Gotta love Bluetooth headsets."

"Castle!" she yelled before she slapped her phone shut. She took a deep breath and realized that she should apologize. She had been teasing him and it wasn't fair to him to get mad when he teased back. Knowing, or at least hoping, that he was going to call back anytime, she reached for her Bluetooth earpiece. She figured that she could light some candles and pick up some stuff while she was on the phone with him at least. Once it was set up, and he hadn't called back, she climbed in bed and dialed his number. There was no way she was going to apologize to him about this at the precinct on Monday.

"I'm sorry Beckett," he said as he answered his phone. "I overstepped."

"Yes and so did I. Sorry, I hung up on you."

"That's okay," he said.

"I know you were just teasing," she said, sort of hoping that wasn't true.

"Um, well…" he started.

"I don't know why the hell I called you back," she said but her tone wasn't as harsh as her words.

"I'm glad you did," he said in his serious voice that she rarely heard.

"So you are um, handling things?" she asked not quite believing that she had just said that to Richard Castle.

"Yes, are you?"

"I was just getting ready to when you called," she said as she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Are you in your sweats in bed?" he asked hoping that she wouldn't hang up again.

"Yes and no. I am wearing a button down shirt in my bed. And you?"

"Lounge pants in my bed. What color is the shirt?"

"Dark blue," she said.

"Is your hair up or down?"

"Down but tucked behind my ear."

"You do that when you're nervous," he said with a small smile.

"I am, a little," she admitted.

"Have you ever done something like this before, Kate?"

"No. You?"

"Once," he admitted realizing that she was going to need him to take the lead on this. "Do what you normally do. Just tell me as you do it."

"I unbutton a few buttons…" her voice trailed off not sure what to say next.

"Leave the shirt as it is but slip one hand inside to touch your breast." He could hear her breathing catch as she did as he asked.

"Are you wearing a shirt?" she asked trying to participate a bit more.

"No. Just the lounge pants and my silk boxers. Pop the next button. How many are left?"

"Three," she said after a pause.

"Pop the rest of them, let your shirt fall to the sides. Are you wearing panties?"

"No, just the shirt."

"Slip your hand down your body. Touch yourself."

* * *

><p>I know, I am evil but I am posting this one earlier in the day and I'll try to post the next part around this time tomorrow too.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes: Okay, please don't kill me. No you aren't missing a part, I didn't write out the phone sex scene. I'm sorry, it just didn't work for me. There will be more phone calls and they get a bit steamier but nothing like what happens at the end. I have enough parts to post one a day until Monday. A couple of the parts are a bit short, I think but hopefully, it will be okay. Come and follow me on Twitter for updates and stuff, I am CharlieOKelley there also.

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><p>Monday morning Kate was the first one into the precinct. She greeted Ryan as he came in then a little while later she had to hide the smile when Esposito nearly dragged himself to his desk. Ryan looked carefully at his partner and said nearly the same thing that Kate herself wanted to say but knew she couldn't.<p>

"Gee bro, looks like you had a hard weekend."

Esposito threw a glance at Beckett hoping that she wouldn't understand the conversation but feeling pretty sure that she either had talked to Lanie or soon would.

"You have no idea," Esposito said.

"Probably do," Ryan grinned. "I was working on my observation skills all weekend also. You can never be too observant."

"That's right, Detectives. Observation is the key to good detective work," the captain said as he walked through the bullpen. The guys just looked at each other, Ryan smiled and Esposito just shook his head.

x-x-x-x

Castle walked in a bit later carrying two coffees as per usual but when he saw Beckett he nearly stumbled.

"Walk much Castle?" asked Esposito.

"Sorry. I was just thinking of something else. Morning, Beckett," he handed her the specialty coffee and tried to be calm. Luckily, it seemed to work out for him.

"Morning, thanks for the coffee. I'll be back, I need to go talk to Lanie," she said as she headed out with her coffee. She went downstairs and sat down in one of the extra chairs by Lanie's desk.

"You look exhausted, Lanie."

"Thanks, girlfriend," she said with a smile. "I had a very good weekend."

"A very good one? Does it have anything to do with the fact that Esposito came to the precinct dragging his ass?"

"Most definitely."

"You need to stop wearing that poor boy out. What if I need him to do some work today?"

"It's not my fault, girlfriend. If you hadn't pointed out which was the best kind of toy, I might have gotten some sleep this weekend."

"So you are blaming me?" Kate said with a smile.

"Hell no, I'm thanking you! How about you? Did you have a good weekend?"

"It was fine."

"Just fine? Girlfriend, you need to open that box Writer Boy gave you and it will be better than fine."

"I did," she said softly.

"And?"

"It's what I pointed out at the store."

"I know that. Esposito said that he bought three of them."

"Three?"

"One for Jenny and Ryan also."

"Hope they didn't get offended. Ryan didn't seem mad at Castle when he came in."

"From what I understand, they would not have been offended. Not at all."

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked unsure about Lanie's tone of voice.

"Oh no. I'll let Writer Boy tell you. Unless you want to ask Kevin," Lanie said with an evil little smile.

"Something tells me that would not be a good idea."

"Smart woman, but you never answered my question."

"What question?" Kate tried to avoid the issue a bit longer.

"Beckett, why did you come down here if you aren't going to dish some dirt?"

"I'll just say that it's just as nice as the box advertises."

"I know," Lanie said with a smile. "And with someone else to use it with, wow, that was even better. Too bad you didn't have anyone to help you."

Kate looked away from Lanie hoping that she wouldn't notice her nervousness. Lanie might not be a detective but she knew Kate's tells and the slightly creased forehead was a giveaway.

"I thought Josh was out of the picture."

"He is," Kate said.

"Don't tell me you and Writer Boy finally..." Lanie stopped when she saw Kate look up at her. "You got freaky with Castle?"

"Not exactly."

"You better tell me exactly," Lanie said crossing her arms.

"He called just before I was, um, going to try out my new present."

"He called? What did he want?"

"He wanted to know if I liked my present." Kate refused to meet Lanie's direct gaze.

"And you told him...?" Lanie asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

"That I hadn't tried it yet." Lanie threw up her arms in frustration at Kate's response.

"You should have just invited him over. I'm sure he would have been happy to help you with that."

"He was happy enough over the phone," Kate admitted.

"Katherine Beckett! You had phone sex with Castle?"

"Could you keep your voice down?" Kate demanded in a whisper finally meeting her friend's eyes. "I don't think they heard you upstairs."

Her voice dropped to a whisper, "You had –"

"Yes," Kate interrupted her friend not wanting to hear her saying it again.

"So when are you going to do it for real?"

"I doubt that will happen. It was weird enough to see him this morning. He walked in, saw me, and nearly tripped over his feet."

"Go for it, Kate. You have to know he is crazy about you. And I know you are about him. You never would have accepted that present from him otherwise."

"I just don't think-"

"No Kate, don't think," Lanie's voice had lost all trace of teasing. "Stop thinking with your head and follow your heart. Or some other body parts a little lower than your heart even."

Kate was going to try to reply but was stopped when her phone rang, it was Esposito with a case.

"We gotta run, a body dropped."

"Think about it Kate," Lanie said before gathering up her necessary equipment and heading out with her friend.

Two weeks later

"Lanie just called. She wants to see you guys downstairs before you leave," Beckett said.

"Why not you?" Castle asked.

"I don't know," she said but not meeting anyone's eyes, trying to hide a smile. She wasn't about to tell them that she knew that Lanie and Esposito had gone shopping again at Naughty Lisa's and they bought something for the guys. She didn't know what it was but she could guess from the nervous expression on Esposito's face. Castle and Ryan glanced around at each other in the elevator and could clearly tell the something was bothering the usually unflappable detective. Once they got there, Lanie handed two gift bags to Esposito.

"Oh, come on, chica," he pleaded.

"Sorry, baby. We talked about this."

He took a deep breath then tried to explain. "Lanie and I wanted to thank you for the gift from a couple of weeks ago Castle so we got something for you guys." He handed a bag to Ryan and one to Castle.

"Aww, you shouldn't have," Castle said with a smirk before he peeked into the bag, seeing bubble bath and some other things.

"Oh cool. Thanks, bro," said Ryan as he looked into the gift bag. "Jenny is going to love this."

"Thanks Esposito. Lanie," Castle said deciding to not pick on Esposito anymore now that he was pretty sure what was in the bag and that it was pretty innocuous. "You didn't have to get me anything you know."

"I know," Lanie said. "But we wanted to. You all have a good weekend, I'm going to take my man home now."

Ryan and Castle struggled to not laugh at the embarrassed look on their friends face. The two men headed back to the elevator to get ready to go home and Castle was thinking about if he should give this to Beckett when he got upstairs or drop it off at her place later.

"Gonna go home and take a bubble bath?" Ryan asked.

"No, I'm not really the bubble bath type, Ryan."

"What you going to do with it then?"

"I don't know."

"You can always just give it to Beckett?" Ryan suggested.

"Um, yeah. I probably will. I don't really need this stuff."

He didn't know what else to say and was glad the younger man left the conversation there as he walked over to his desk. Ryan grabbed his things then called out a goodbye to the detective-writer duo.

"So what did Lanie want?" Kate asked once she was sure Ryan was gone. Castle placed the bag on her desk in front of her.

"What's this?" she asked, as she was finishing up some of the last of the most recent case paperwork.

"Lanie said she and Esposito wanted to thank me for the gift the other week so, this."

"Why are you showing me?"

"I think you will enjoy it more than me."

"Did you peek?" she narrowed her eyes at him a bit.

"Yes."

"Did it embarrass you?"

"No, but it sure did embarrass Esposito," he said with a smile. "Something tells me that even though Lanie said 'we' got the gift, something tells me that it was really just her."

"Nope." Castle looked up her in surprise. "Lanie said she took him with her and made him help pick out the purchases."

"Oh, so you know all about it," he said slightly disappointed.

"Not all about it. Just that they went together. There finished," she said as she closed the last file.

"I'm glad this case is over. It was crazy."

"Yes it was. Would you like to go to Remy's and get a burger and fries? I'll even get you a milk shake," he offered.

"Do you mind if we just get it to go? I just want to go home and relax," she said as she gathered up her things to get ready to leave.

"Sure. Don't forget the bag?"

"You don't want it? You could give it to Alexis or Martha, looks like it's just bath stuff."

"True but I would have to explain why Esposito gave it to me and I just don't want to even think about that," he shuddered and she chuckled.

"Come on, Writer Boy, my treat," she said.

"I was going to pay."

"Nope, you gave me this, I'll pay for dinner." She looked at him. He recognized the look and knew that he wasn't going to win that battle so he shouldn't even try to start it.

An hour and a half later, Kate was finished with her solitary dinner and had just reached for the gift bag when her phone rang.

"Beckett."

"Did you enjoy your dinner?" asked Castle.

"Yes, I did. Did you?"

"Yes and thank you again."

"No problem. I was just going to open up the gift bag and see what all was in it."

"Oh, share."

"I bet you drove your mom crazy on Christmas."

"Still do. So what all is in the gift that I gave you?"

"Give me a minute," she asked as she set up her Bluetooth headset. She told herself that she just didn't want to drop the phone while opening anything but she knew that there was another reason. Part of her was hoping that this call might end up like the phone call they had after the last gift from Castle.

"Okay," she said. "It's a basket and it looks like it has stuff from the front of the store only."

"The front of the store?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was all the bath stuff and such up front then the, um, other things were in the back."

"Yeah, I can't see Esposito going back to the X-Rated section too willingly."

"Lanie could make him though," she smiled. "So there are some bath salts, oils, and bubble bath."

"No, you need to tell me all about them. Not just bath salts, what color, what scent?"

"Okay," she said rolling her eyes even though he couldn't see her. "The bubble bath is lavender, both scent and color. The bath salts are orange and some citrus scent."

"Probably orange," he said dryly.

"Shut up," she said with no anger. "There are two candles, they match the bubble bath and the bath salts. There is some massage oil, some body paints."

"Wait, what scent is the massage oil?" he asked before she could continue.

"Flowering cherry blossom," she said softly her mind racing back to that time he commented on her cherry scented shampoo and conditioner.

"Nice. You said body paints?" he asked.

"Flavored body paints."

"Glad I didn't give this to Alexis after all."

"Good choice. Apparently, they didn't stay in the front of the store after all. Here is a book of erotica, a movie and a waterproof vibrator. The book is called 'Bath Time Confessions' and the movie is 'Bathing Beauties'. Lanie put a note on it though. It says 'Sorry about this, Javi just saw a bathtub on the cover and picked it. Lisa said you can swap it for something else though.' Poor guy, I bet he was embarrassed."

"I bet. So are you going to try out any of this?" he asked, hoping that she wouldn't end the call on him.

She sat there for a moment and thought about it. "What do you suggest?"

"The bubble bath, the candle, and the book," he said his voice slightly lower in timber than normal. "I'm sure I can find some bubble bath too and I can take a bath with you. Over the phone, of course."

"Okay," she said as she picked up the gift basket and carried it to the bathroom and he raced upstairs to get some bubble bath from Alexis' room.

"So do you have an old fashioned bath tub or a modern one?" he asked as he started to fill his tub.

"It's a claw foot tub like the one in my old apartment," she said as she turned on the water and let it start to fill.

"I can't say that I saw it too much. I was more worried about the place being on fire," he said with a smirk.

"And the fact that I was naked." She suddenly stopped pouring the bubble bath. "Is that when you came up with the title Naked Heat?"

"No. And I promise that I didn't stare at you once I realized your state of undress. I wanted to but I didn't," he mumbled the last sentence but she could still hear him.

"I bet you have a huge modern tub," Kate said ignoring his mumbled comment.

"Yep, with jets and everything. I haven't taken a bubble bath in years," he said as he stripped off his clothes.

"I love bubble baths, nice and relaxing," she said as she also removed her clothes. She didn't know if she should mention it or ask him if he removed his but then she heard him splashing.

"Are you in the tub, Kate?" he asked.

"Not yet. I'm pulling up my hair so it doesn't get too wet." She then grabbed a towel, folded it over a couple of times then placed it on the back of the tub so she could rest against it. She stepped into the tub and gracefully sat down. "Oh, this is nice."

"Will you read to me?" he asked but she remained silent. "Especially any stories that have something to do with waterproof vibrators."

"Damn," she mumbled causing him to grin. She had hoped that he forgot about that. "Okay."

_Confession One. I was relaxing in my tub for some much needed alone time when he walked into the bathroom. I squeaked in indignation as I tried to hide under the bubbles. I asked him what he thought he was doing but he didn't speak. He just looked at me and started to unbutton his shirt. Soon he was naked and walking toward me. He still didn't speak but I could see the desire in his brilliant blue eyes. I sat up, and then moved so that he could have some space to slip in the tub behind me. I never expected the first time I saw him naked would be in my tub. He pulled me into his arms, my back to his chest, lightly kissing my neck as his hands started to wander. I could feel his erection growing as his hands slid through the bubbles and gently began caressing my breasts. My head feel back to his shoulder and I couldn't resist the small moan as one hand slipped lower…_

End part 4


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes: First of all, I am sorry that this part is so short. Second, don't kill me at how this ends. I do promise, promise, promise that you will get to the smut. Eventually. ducking and hiding for cover

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><p>Thursday night<p>

It had been almost a week since bubble bath that Kate and Rick took over the phone. It had started off just with her reading the book but soon they found a story of two people bathing over the phone, just like them. The story in the book even had a waterproof vibe just as Castle had requested. Kate still was a bit surprised that Castle didn't say anything about the calls, not even when they were in private. She was rather glad that they had made those calls that were so out of character for her. The calls had been a surprisingly good stress relief, one that she could really use tonight.

Kate had just wrapped up a horrible case involving a small girl who was brutally murdered. She knew that everyone was affected by this case; they always were when it involved a kid. Kate wandered around her apartment and debated on what to do. She used to call Lanie and they would get together and have a drink or two and just watch silly movies after a case like this but that was before she started dating Esposito. Kate knew that Esposito needed to relax after a case too and it wasn't any fair to him for her to keep Lanie all to herself. That was one of the big problems about not having too many friends from out side of where she works, if she had a stressful day, likely chance is that all of her friends did too.

In fact, even her one friend who wasn't a cop was affected also, Castle. As soon as they had caught the guy there were nearly positive was the killer, he had left to go home. He had left saying that he was going to be late for his poker game but Beckett suspected that he wanted to just get out of the precinct. She didn't blame him, just remembering the smug look on that murderer's face was enough to make her cringe in disgust. Kate finally decided to just have a glass of wine and read a book to hopefully get her mind off the day.

She grabbed a book off the shelf and settled under some blankets on the couch. Her mind wouldn't let her focus on the book though and she soon closed it, looking for a moment at the familiar photo on the back cover. Suddenly, her mind focused on the one thing that she had been trying to avoid thinking about. Richard Castle and more precisely, those late night phone calls that they have had. She couldn't deny that those calls did help her to sleep and put her mind at ease. She knew that she couldn't just continue to ignore the calls, she was going to have to deal with them eventually.

Kate pulled the blanket a bit closer and took a sip of her wine. Part of her insisted that whatever the phone calls were they were just some form of stress relief and nothing more. The other parts of her knew that there was a whole lot more than that when it came to Rick Castle. She had finally admitted about a year ago that she had feelings for him but she had tried to tamp them down after he left with Gina. Then she met Josh. She knew that they would never be long term and was actually surprised that they had lasted as long as they did. Josh was supposed to simply be her rebound guy but everything was just so easy with him. Kate finally admitted to herself that had he actually been around all the time and not off in other counties, they would have ended a long time ago. She had been sad to see the end of the relationship but she knew that it had run its course. Josh was a great guy just not the one for her. He rarely was there for her when she needed him, not necessarily through any fault of his though. Kate just didn't open up easily to let anyone be there for her. In fact, the one man she was the most open with was staring at her from the back of the book still in her hands.

Kate admitted that she did still have feelings for him and she was pretty sure that he felt the same. She just wasn't sure how far it would go. She had told him a long time ago that she was a one and done kind of girl. She just was afraid that he wouldn't want to be that one. Kate took a deep breath and decided to simply not think about the long term for right now. She was enjoying these phone calls and even though she usually was left a bit confused after, she wasn't going to stop the calls. Not that she had actually called him in the first place she suddenly realized. Of course, the calls didn't necessarily start with the intention of having phone sex. Or at least, that's what she told herself. The first two calls were simply one friend calling another friend to ask about a gift, and it went from there.

Kate knew that if she called Rick now, with no gifts involved, that it was a big change. She also realized that she was going to eventually have to tell him that she and Josh had ended things. She was just a bit worried about what would happen once she did. Kate was willing to move forward with Castle but she was still nervous about it. Granted having her phone in her hand, finger poised over his speed dial to have phone sex probably didn't help matters. She sighed and dropped the phone to her lap. Once again, her eyes were drawn to his photo, it was not her favorite photo of him, she did prefer him in blue after all, but it was still a handsome picture. Her fingers trailed down the photo before she picked up the phone again. Kate decided to send him a text instead of calling him. She was sure that he was still playing poker and a text was easier to miss than a call.

_Hey Castle. How's the game going?_

She picked up the book and found the place she stopped but was interrupted by a reply. He must have had his phone beside him, almost as if he was waiting for her text or call.

_Poorly. I think Connelly is cheating. Going to kick him out soon. ;)_

She laughed at his antics and knew that he was just joking about the cheating. Kate wondered if he was going to kick them out soon though. She bit her lower lip as she composed her next text and thought about it several times before she finally sent it.

_Do you have your Bluetooth on?_

She waited nervously for his reply. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long.

_No. Give me 30 min and I'll call you._

_Thanks._

She stood up to find her Bluetooth headset and his reply was nearly instant.

_Always._

End part 5

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><p><strong>UPDATE!<strong> I have had quite a few negative reviews all of a sudden after this chapter. Trust me though, I will deliver. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me in a way that I can actually respond to you. Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

One week later

After the third call Lanie is over at Kate's for a girl's night. They are eating pizza with the toppings they normally never got when eating with the guys and watching chick flicks. They had once again finished a tough case but Kate was adamant that she was going to de-stress without calling Castle. She had thoroughly enjoyed the phone calls and was honestly surprised that he said nothing about them at work. Every now and then she caught him watching her with a new look in his eyes but she tried to avoid thinking about it.

"So Kate, how come this our first post case girls night in ages?"

"If I have a hard case, that means Esposito does too and I know he needs some stress relief also."

"Girl, you know he always hangs with Ryan for a bit before he comes home. I don't mind hanging with you until he's ready to come home. Unless you got someone else to de-stress you now."

"Want some ice cream?" Kate asked hoping desperately to change the subject.

"Not right now. I wanna know who is helping you de-stress. Did you and Castle finally wise up?" she asked almost as a joke but seeing the look on Kate's face made her realize it was true.

"No," Kate mumbled.

"They why do you look guilty? I obviously hit a nerve."

Kate sighed. "I told you that Castle had called to see how I liked that present?"

"The phone sex."

"Yeah, well that wasn't the only time."

"How many times have you?" Lanie left it at that with a quirked eyebrow leaving no doubt what she meant.

"Three. That time, the time you gave him the bath stuff and last week after the Austin case," Kate explained.

"I can see him calling after the presents but not the last one. I mean yes, it was stressful but why would he call you?"

"I called him," Kate said softly.

"You called Richard Castle for phone sex?" Lanie exclaimed causing Kate to glare at her friend.

"Sorry, sorry. So you called him..."

"Yeah. He called me the first two times to see if I liked the gifts and things just went from there. After the Austin case, I don't know why I called him but it worked nicely," she said blushing slightly.

"I still can't believe that you called someone for phone sex much less Writer Boy. Why don't you just invite him over next time?"

"It's weird enough seeing him at work after one of our phone calls, I think it would be just way too weird otherwise."

"Has he said anything at work?"

"No. After the first time, he just about tripped when he saw me sitting at my desk but he hasn't said anything. Which is rather surprising."

"No kidding. Why did he trip over his feet? Did you leave more buttons unbuttoned than normal?"

"No," she glared at Lanie who just smiled. "It was my blue dress shirt that has the... " her voice trailed off.

"What? It's the shirt that what?"

"When he called that first time, he asked what I was wearing. I told him a blue button up shirt. He must have thought I was wearing the same shirt to work."

"Were you?"

"No. I was wearing a man's shirt for the phone call," Kate said not meeting Lanie's eyes.

"Wearing Josh's shirt while having phone sex with another guy?" Lanie shook her head.

"First of all, Josh and I had already split up by then and second, it wasn't Josh's shirt. You met him several times. Did you ever see him in a blue button down shirt?"

"Well then…" she paused as she realized whose shirt it had to have been. "When did you steal Castle's shirt?"

"After my apartment blew up, I stayed with him for a few nights. I must have accidently kept it from then."

"Accidently?"

"Yes," she insisted but not sure if it was enough for Lanie to believe her.

"So are you going to do anything about this 'whatever' you got going on with Castle?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly.

"You're just going to keep calling him when you need to? Has he called you?"

"No. Only to see if I liked the gifts."

"I still think you need to just invite him over. As much fun as that toy is, I'm sure Writer Boy is better in person than over the phone."

"I know, it's just I'm-"

"Scared," Lanie said and was slightly surprised when Kate nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah."

"You just need to figure out your feelings and stop hiding behind all those walls that you put up girlfriend."

"It's hard, but I am working on it."

"I know but you are smart and you know that he would be good for you. Don't even try to deny it. And I'm not just meaning the sex."

Kate was quiet for a bit, obviously thinking.

"You could always just have sex with him," Lanie suggested.

"No. I'm sure he'd agree to the sex but I don't think that's all he wants."

"So you think he wants a real relationship?"

"Yes."

"Do you?" Lanie asked but before Kate could answer, her phone rang.

"Beckett," she said into the phone.

"Can we talk?" asked Castle.

"Sure Castle, what's up?" she questioned as she watched Lanie gather up her jacket and purse.

"No, Kate. Can we talk? With the Bluetooth?" he asked, obviously nervous for asking.

"Lanie's here right now but it looks like she is leaving, give me a few and I'll call you right back."

"Thanks, Kate," he said before he disconnected the call.

"Is he okay?" Lanie asked.

"I'm not sure. Something other than the case was bothering him earlier today but he didn't say what it was."

"I hope everything is okay," Lanie said as she walked to the door stopping to speak again before she closed it behind her. "You just need to trust him, Kate."

"That's not easy for me," she said honestly.

"How many times have you given him your backup piece? You trust him to have your back, you just need to trust him with your heart."

Kate stood there for a moment debating on if she was going to call Castle back or go over to his apartment. She had thought for a while that she needed to wait for the right moment for them to take this to the next level and she wondered if this moment was finally here. Kate knew that if she went over to his loft, she would have sex with him. She also knew that would either totally ruin everything they had or be what they both were searching for. She just didn't know if she was ready to take that chance quite yet. Finally, even though she was tempted, she decided to just call him.

"Kate," he said as he immediately picked up the phone.

"Are you okay, Rick?"

"It's Alexis."

"What's wrong? Do you need me to come over?"

"No. No, it's nothing like that. Sorry. She got a letter from a college this morning after she left for school."

"Is that a bad thing?" she questioned gently.

"It was from Oxford. I thought about it all day, dreading it. Finally, she got home to open it."

"And?"

"She was accepted with a full academic scholarship."

"Oh, Rick," she said. Kate was excited for Alexis because she knew that the teen had been excited about Oxford. But Kate also knew that Richard Castle would not handle things well if his little girl went to England for school. "Has she decided yet?"

"No. This was her first acceptance, I'm sure that she will get plenty more. It's just that she was so excited. What if she wants to go? To England?"

"Rick," she said softly, somewhat wishing that she had gone to his place to be able to give him a hug. She also knew that it wouldn't stop at a hug though and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that right now. "Is this going to be her decision or yours?"

"Hers, of course. But what if she leaves?"

"She has to grow up sometime, Rick. You are going to have to accept that sometime. Alexis is a smart girl and a sweet one too. I know that she will see how much just the thought of her going to England hurts you. I doubt she'll do that to you."

"I'm not telling her," he whispered.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to pressure her to stay here. I don't want her to look back on it later and regret that she didn't take this opportunity."

"You are such a good dad," Kate said. "Alexis is very lucky."

"Thanks, Kate."

"Always, Rick."

"I thought that was my line," he said obviously smiling.

"Feeling a bit better?" she asked.

"Yeah. So, um," he stumbled over his words not sure how to carry the conversation in the direction that he wanted to.

"What are you wearing?"

"Lounge pants, boxers, and a tee shirt. What about you?"

"The blue button up again. I like it."

"How many buttons are unbuttoned?"

"Just the two at the top. Is your t-shirt one of the snug fitting ones or a baggy one?"

"Ooh, Kate, I didn't know you paid that much attention to my clothes."

"I am a detective, Rick," she said in a husky voice. "I have good observation skills."

"It's a snug fitting shirt," he said, his voice husky also. He couldn't resist a small chuckle though when he thought of her observational skills and if she had figured out what he and the boys had talked about that one time. "And I make it look good."

"Okay," she chuckled. "Since you are too sexy for the shirt, take it off, but don't drop your Bluetooth. Rick, Rick?"

"Sorry, I dropped the Bluetooth."

"Figured that," she grinned. "So what color are your pants?"

"Dark blue with Robbie the Robot on them. I got them for Christmas last year."

"Okay, so how many times _have_ you seen Forbidden Planet?" she asked.

"Um. Well," he mumbled suddenly realizing that he was busted.

"I'm not mad, Rick. I realized it ten minutes into the movie."

"How?"

"Every time I've seen that movie with someone else they always are asking me which one Leslie Nielsen is, you didn't."

"Oh. You aren't mad?" he asked softly.

"No. I was a bit annoyed but I got over it. So, blue lounge pants."

"It seems that we both like the color blue," he commented.

"At least you do," she mumbled before joking. "So you were too sexy for your shirt, do you have a manly thatch of chest hair under it?"

"No. I'm not a hairy guy. Do you like chest hair?"

"I can take it or leave it. I just don't like it when it's more of a rug than some hair."

"So I'm not wearing my shirt, how about you pop a couple more buttons."

"Okay, Rick. Slip your fingers under the waist of your pants. Not your boxers, just the pants."

"Next button," he said his voice husky and she complied.

"Lose the pants. Only one button left. What boxers are you wearing?"

"My blue silk ones," he said.

"You really like those, don't you?" she asked remembering when he mentioned his silk boxers during a case before.

"What can I say, they're soft. It feels nice against my skin. Last button but leave the shirt on. What should I do?" he asked, enjoying how she was taking a bit more control over the call this time.

Realizing what he was doing and knowing that she really should take control because he called her for the stress relief, she debated on how explicit she should be. She thought back to their first phone call and remembered how he simply said 'touch yourself.'

"Rick, feel how soft and smooth the silk of your boxers is on your skin," she said hearing the deeply drawn breath over the phone. "I want you to touch yourself."

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><p>Author's Note: Somehow I thought Alexis was a senior this year so oops on that.<p>

Second note: I would like to thank my reviewers. And apologize. I realize that I am teasing y'all but I thought that posting the last part on finale day would be a good idea. I still haven't seen the sneak peeks and I am not going to, I heartily dislike spoilers. I have heard though that it is probably going to be intense so I thought some smut posted that day would be good. Had I known that people would have gotten so upset over me not posting the smut right away, I probably would have either pulled the story completely to repost all on Monday or just left everyone hanging until then and post all remaining chapters at that time. I figure that at least I am posting a chapter each day and not waiting a week or more between them.

Hope you enjoy this and if you want, feel free to wait to read it all on Monday.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: First off, I want to apologize for this being late today. We decided to go to the library and I didn't know it would take that long. Second, I would like to thank everyone again for the wonderful reviews. It truly made me feel so much better after those negative ones. And it gave me another story idea too for a case fic this time. Well, enough talking and on with the story.

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><p>The following Monday, Castle came to the precinct far more chipper than Kate thought he would be. Even the boys noticed, they glanced at each other then Kate. They looked to her to see if she was jealous, mad, or feeling a bit chipper herself. She realized that they thought that Rick had gotten lucky over the weekend and she guessed, in a way, he did.<p>

"So did you have a good weekend Castle?" asked Ryan once they caught him in the break room, obviously hinting for details when Beckett wasn't around.

"Yes, I did. Saturday was wonderful."

"Oh, do tell," Esposito asked with a grin.

"Yeah, we want details."

"Well I got up, showered, ate breakfast, got the mail," Castle started as Kate walked into the room.

"Dude, not that many details," complained Esposito.

"But I just told you the best part."

"Breakfast was that good? Who cooked it for you?" Ryan asked suggestively.

"My daughter," Castle said, glaring at Ryan. "Alexis got the mail and she had two more college acceptance letters."

"Hey, that's great," Esposito said. Kate just looked at him over the rim of her coffee mug waiting to here where they were from.

"Where did she get accepted?" asked Ryan.

"So far, Oxford, Harvard and Princeton," he said meeting Kate's eyes.

"That's great, Castle. Did she apply to NYU?" Kate asked.

"No, she said it was too close," he said a bit sadly.

"Well, you probably would have expected her to just live at home," Ryan commented.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Castle, we need to have a talk about teenage girls and freedoms they need when they get to college," Kate commented.

"Oh no. We will NOT be talking about my daughter like that." Ryan and Esposito decided to go ahead and leave and not get in the middle of the fight that they were sure was coming. But Kate could tell he wasn't mad, he just didn't want to think of his little girl growing up too much.

"I'll call you tonight," she said softly as she walked past him to head back to her desk.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur to Castle, he kept thinking about Kate calling him later that night. He was surprised that she had mentioned their phone calls in any way at work. He had tried, very hard, to make sure that he didn't refer to them at all. Other than the time that he almost tripped over his feet when he saw her wearing what was probably the same blue shirt that she had worn the night of the phone call.

Kate didn't get the chance to call him that night due to a case. They did get a chance to talk about Alexis growing up though while they were on a stakeout the following day. She just told him that she had seen some girls in college who were very sheltered and then once they had the freedom of college, they went totally wild. Kate then had to reassure him that she didn't think that would happen to Alexis since the girl was too smart to do something too stupid.

They broke that case and immediately was handed another one, keeping busy all week. Lunchtime on Thursday came and Castle ordered pizza for himself and Beckett while the rest of the team did their own things. Ryan ended up taking a lot longer of a lunch than Castle thought he would and he seemed bothered when he came back.

"Sorry, I'm late, boss," Ryan said as he slipped back behind his desk.

"Everything okay?" Beckett asked.

"Mostly," he said with some sadness. "Jenny is going out of town for a week. There's some conference for her work. She just told me about it over lunch. She leaves on Monday."

"That's not much notice," Castle said.

"Yeah, her boss was supposed to go but he got sick so she is going instead. That reminds me, I have something for you, Castle. I'll bring it in tomorrow."

x-x-x-x

The following day

"So what's in the bag Castle?" asked Kate causing him to jump and try to make sure the bag was completely closed.

"Nothing."

"Why are you carrying an empty bag?"

"It's not empty," he said quietly.

"Then it's not nothing, is it? Besides, I saw Esposito with a bag just like that when I was leaving the morgue. Did Ryan buy you guys a present?" she asked jokingly.

"Yes," he said turning a bit red letting her realize exactly what type of present it was.

"So you can buy what you did without embarrassment," she said cryptically since they were still in the precinct. "Esposito even bought something that didn't bother you but Ryan's gift, Ryan the good little Catholic boy, his gift embarrasses you?"

"Ever heard the phrase, 'it's the quiet ones you have to worry about?'" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I don't have to worry about you," she grinned at his discomfort.

"Ever notice how quiet Ryan is?" he asked hoping that he really wasn't going to have to spell it out in detail.

"Yeah," she said knowing that he was trying to avoid saying too much.

"Let's just say that a couple of weeks ago wasn't the first time he's been to Naughty Lisa's. From the sound of it, he's a frequent customer."

"Really?" she said honestly surprised.

"I know, shocked me too. Almost as much as this," he said as he nudged the bag but pulled it closer when she tried to peek.

"Why come up here and show me the bag, if you aren't going to show me what's inside?" she asked.

"I can't take it home. Alexis will see it. And to make it worse, she is having a party tonight. So between her and half a dozen teenage girls, I cannot take this home."

"Just give it here and I'll take it home. I can bring it by sometime when Alexis won't see it."

"No, I need to explain this before you see it," he said refusing to meet her eyes. "Oh wait. I can't let you take it to your place. Josh might see it and that would be bad. Very bad."

"Josh and I broke up a while ago. I thought you knew that," she said not meeting his eyes.

"No, I didn't. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know," she tried to pass it off. "So do you want me to take the bag home?"

"Yes but let's grab something to eat on the way. My treat this time, Chinese?"

"Sure," she said.

Soon they arrived at her apartment and Castle was glad to settle onto the couch and start dinner before opening the gift bag that was taunting him from the coffee table. They talked about anything other than the case they just wrapped up and the bag that was waiting to be unwrapped. Finally, they were finished with their dinner and Castle knew that it was time to show her the bag.

"So, what's the story behind the bag?" Kate finally asked as she put away the leftovers and he tossed the trash.

"Don't you want your fortune cookie?" he asked trying to stall a bit more by selecting one for himself.

"Fine," she said with a grin as she cracked open one. "Wine?"

"Sure," he said as she poured two glasses then settled back on the couch.

"What's your fortune?"

"Hey, I got two!" he said excited as he read the first one. "Your thoughts are highly regarded."

"Not sure about that, Castle," she said jokingly, earning her the famous Castle squinty glare.

"What's yours say?" he asked.

"Pleasures await you by the seashore," she read.

"You know you have to add the words 'in bed' at the end, right?" he grinned at her.

"Castle," she rolled her eyes. "What's your other one?"

"It says, um," he stopped. "I'm not making this up, I swear."

"What's it say?" she said as she held her hand out to read it herself. "Tonight will be a lucky night."

"In bed," he said before he could stop himself.

"Maybe in your dreams. So are you ever going to tell me what's in the bag?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked, suddenly serious.

"Of course," she said with no hesitation.

"It seems that Ryan wanted to give Jenny something to take with her to remind her of him. So he bought her another toy."

"God, that's just so hard to believe, Ryan buying sex toys," she said with a shake of her head.

"I know!" he exclaimed. "But it wasn't just any toy. I honestly don't know what possessed Ryan to buy three of these. I mean I can understand Esposito but he knows we aren't, um, aren't."

"What did he buy?" she asked now even more curious. "I know they don't have anything too outrageous."

"Trust me, it is," he said trying not to think about how well she seems to know the store and its merchandise. "I mean there probably wouldn't be anything wrong with this if we were together but, um."

"Castle, just show me," she said somewhat exasperated.

He silently held the bag out to her almost dreading her reaction. He was not expecting the laughter.

"Clone a Willy. He is so dead," she laughed when she saw the gift. It was a kit to make an exact replica of your man's erection.

"Can you just imagine Esposito's face when he saw this?" Castle said.

"I would have paid to see that. I bet Lanie will love this," Kate was still laughing as she read the packaging.

"So you aren't mad?" he asked.

"No. If you had made this then given it to me, I would be because that would be creepy."

"I know." He took a deep breath much calmer now knowing that she wasn't going to be angry with him. Not that he had done anything actually but still. He was lost in thought when Kate pulled a card from the bag.

"What's this Rick?"

"Huh?" He looked at the card confused since he hadn't seen it earlier. He reached for it and read it out loud.

"Maybe Kate would like to try something just like the real thing." He looked up at her shocked by what he just read. "Did you tell them?"

"About the calls? No. Not the guys, I told Lanie but swore her to secrecy. Did you tell them?"

"Of course not," he swore from his end of the couch. "So either they are just fishing or they really are damn good detectives," he said with a smile.

"They are good detectives but I think they are fishing."

"But why now?" he asked.

"I guess Lanie told them Josh is gone."

"So when did that happen?"

"A couple of weeks ago," she said.

"I hope the gift I gave you didn't cause any problems."

"No, we split about a week before that. Thanks again for that gift," she said with a bit of a smile.

"So you've enjoyed it?" he asked her.

"Yes I have. Couldn't you tell?" she asked suggestively.

"Yes, but it's always nice to hear just how much a gift is appreciated."

"Oh trust me it's appreciated. I still have to say I'm surprised that you bought me that. And one for Lanie and Jenny too.

"Esposito seemed intrigued to try it with Lanie but he didn't have the cash on him so I thought I would get him one. The storeowner asked if I wanted one too then Ryan walked in, so I just bought three. The guys were a bit annoyed that I bought one for you."

"I so would have thought Ryan would have been offended," Kate said.

"Me too but he looked pretty excited instead. I didn't tell you," he said with an amused look. "I actually got a thank you note in the mail from Jenny. I about died when Alexis saw it."

"She didn't actually write something like 'thanks for the sex toy' did she?" Kate asked with a grin.

"Thank goodness, no. But of course, Alexis wanted to know what gift it was."

"And you hate lying to her."

"Oh, but I did. I just wish I could think of something I could do to embarrass them like that but I don't think anything at Naughty Lisa's will embarrass Ryan. And let's just say Ryan shared a bit more than I expected when he told us how he likes to perfect his observation skills as he calls it."

"Meaning what?" she asking remembering several times where the guys mentioned those skills but she suspected it had nothing to do with police work.

"I can't believe we are talking about this," he mentioned as he took a sip of wine.

"Talking about what? You still haven't said what 'it' was," she said but she definitely had an idea.

"Handling things by herself," he finally stammered out.

"So what's wrong with a woman doing that? Or do you believe in a double standard?"

"Nothing. No. I just, um never watched a woman handling things."

"Why not? Too impatient?" she asked.

"Yes," he said immediately.

"Why am I not surprised?" she said with a smile as she emptied her glass.

"I just want to get to the, uh, the main event," he tried to say calmly as he drank some of his wine.

"Let me tell you something for you to think about the next time, Rick, some women can have more than one 'main event,'" she said as she reached out and patted him on the knee.

"Can you?" he asked looking into her eyes.

"If done right," she said watching as he seemed to lose the power of speech. "See, I told Lanie you couldn't handle this," she said as she stood up, grabbed her wine glass, and walked past him to the kitchen.

"Oh, I can handle it Kate," he said as he reached out and grabbed her hand. She turned her head to look down on him still sitting on the couch. She knew that this was that moment she had thought about, the one that would change everything. Kate looked in his eyes and knew that she could still just brush it off as a joke but she didn't really want to. He stood up slowly, keeping eye contact, then stepped more into her personal space.

"You know this is going to change everything," she said softly looking at his lips.

"I know," he said, amazed at the promise her words carried.

"Can you handle that?" she asked as he placed his left hand on her left hip.

"Yes."

"Prove it."

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> I have a question for y'all. The last part is over 4000 words. Would you like me to keep it as one chapter or split it in two? If split in two, it will be posted together no more than a few minutes apart. I will NOT make y'all wait another day for the main event. Let me know if you can. Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8a

Author's Notes: I asked if I should split this up or not and I got mixed messages on that. I have decided to split it for two reasons. One, I know some people can't read longer parts on their phones and two, it was suggested that it might be good to have an intermission so that they can go take a cold shower. For those who only wanted one part though, I won't be putting any author's notes at the end of this part or the beginning of the next one.

* * *

><p>From Chapter 7<p>

"_Oh, I can handle it Kate," he said as he reached out and grabbed her hand. She turned her head to look down on him still sitting on the couch. She knew that this was that moment she had thought about, the one that would change everything. Kate looked in his eyes and knew that she could still just brush it off as a joke but she didn't really want to. He stood up slowly, keeping eye contact, then stepped more into her personal space. _

"_You know this is going to change everything," she said softly looking at his lips._

"_I know," he said, amazed at the promise her words carried._

"_Can you handle that?" she asked as he placed his left hand on her left hip._

"_Yes."_

"_Prove it."_

Part 8a

Rick gently pulled her back against his chest, letting her feel his erection. He stood there a moment, lightly nuzzling his face into her hair, inhaling the light scent of cherries. He wanted to kiss her, really and finally kiss her but he knew that if he did now, he wouldn't be able to stop. Rick didn't think that they were going to stop tonight but he wanted to prove to her that he could 'handle things' as he claimed. He wasn't able to resist dropping a few quick kisses down her neck before he slipped his hand from her hip to her belly, pulling her even closer. She flexed her hips a bit, rubbing her backside against his erection. Rick dropped her right hand from his and gently reached up to pull her hair from the side of her neck, raining some light little kisses down the column of her neck and just behind her ear.

"Kate, go and put on your blue shirt," he suggested.

"You coming?"

"Not yet," he said wondering if she meant anything other than her usual with that phrase. She nodded then slipped out of his arms. As soon as he was alone, he took several deep breaths trying to control his racing thoughts and hormones. It worked to a small extent until he looked to her bedroom and saw the door open. She stood there wearing a man's button up shirt and as he got closer, he realized it was familiar.

"That's my shirt," he said as he lightly touched his monogrammed initials on the left front pocket. "You've been wearing my shirt this whole time?" She nodded. "That's so hot."

He reached for her, clearly intending on unbuttoning the first button when she stepped back into her bedroom.

"No, no. You can't touch," she said causing a flash of something akin to pain cross his eyes. "I get to handle things first and then you can. Sit over there," she said gesturing to the window seat.

"Pop a button," he said as he walked backwards to the seat, he didn't want to miss anything. "Lie down."

"You pop your buttons, too," she said as she did as he asked making sure that she was propped up on the pillows enough for him to see her. Taking the initiative, she popped the next button also.

"I really like this shirt. Every time I wear it I think of you. I think about your arms around me. I imagine what it would be like to unbutton it and take it off of you before we make love," she said her voice husky with passion, as she unbuttoned more buttons. "Then after we are both exhausted, I would pick up your shirt, this one, and put it on myself."

Kate unbuttoned the final button just as he did on the shirt he was wearing but kept the shirt closed, just as he had asked her during the first phone call.

"I thought of this during the first phone call of you touching me, when you said for me to touch myself I imagined your hands, Rick." She let the shirt fall open a bit giving him a glimpse of breast and smooth silky skin. He yanked off his shirt as his eyes hungrily followed her hand as it dipped lower and lower, stopping at the curls between her legs. She looked over to him and saw him close his eyes. His breathing was getting labored and he was having a difficult time sitting still, his erection straining against his now very tight pants.

"Rick, open your eyes."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I won't be able to stop myself. On the phone, I could just hear you but I could remember what you tasted like from the one time we kissed. I could remember the scent of your shampoo but I could only imagine what you looked like. Now that I can see you too, but knowing that I can't touch you, it's, it's overwhelming."

"Open your eyes, Rick. I knew this was going to be hard for you."

"Oh it is, trust me," he smiled at the double meaning.

"Take your jeans off," she said. She watched as he reached for the button at his waist but she stopped him before he could reach for the zipper. "Wait. Take your shoes off first."

Knowing that sitting down again in his state was going to next to impossible; he simply toed his shoes off. He then pulled his pants off standing there in only his blue silk boxers. Kate's eyes ran down his body and stopped when she looked at the tent his erection made, unable to resist the little moan of anticipation that escaped her lips.

That little moan was almost his undoing but he took a deep breath and again closed his eyes for a moment.

"Kate, I want you to touch yourself." He watched in fascination as one hand tweaked a nipple as the other went lower still disappearing between her legs. "The next hand that touches you will be mine," he whispered as he moved closer, unable to stay where she told him. He wanted to see where her hand was but she had closed her legs, trapping her hand to her body. He could tell by her moans and the way she was writhing, her fingers were busy.

"Are you going to get your toy?"

"No," she gasped.

"Why not?" he asked as he dropped to his knees beside her bed.

"Don't need it. So close."

"God, you're beautiful. Come for me Kate," he whispered as he lightly reached out to touch her cheek.

"Oh Rick," she gasped softly as her body tensed up before releasing in a mind numbing orgasm.

Rick was unable to keep his hands to himself as watched her calm down. Knowing that her skin was probably ultra-sensitive right now he limited his touch to her face and neck. He brushed her hair from her face.

"Kate that was..." his voice trailed off.

"Speechless, Rick? And I didn't even touch you," she said with a little smile. "Yet. Or is it your turn to handle things yourself?"

"As much as I think that would be fair and all, I would rather we do this together," he admitted.

"Lie down," she said. She thought that he would walk around the bed but he surprised her by putting one knee beside her and straddling her, supporting much of his weight on his arms. Her hands stopped him from rolling over by gently touching his face. They were lost in the depths of the others eyes for a moment before he finally leaned down, their lips meeting in a kiss that made them both moan.

"I want you inside of me, Rick," she whispered in his ear when they eventually broke the kiss.

"I need to calm down first or it will be over before it begins," he said as he nuzzled her neck.

"How about I take care of you first then we can try the main event in a little bit?" she suggested as her hands slipped down his shoulders and along his back.

"How about we take this to the shower?"

"You won't slip or anything?" she asked concerned.

"Don't usually," he said seriously looking deep into her eyes letting her know that it where he normally preferred to handle things on his own.

"Let's go," she responded before she gave him a quick kiss.

He swung his leg back over her and stood up offering her his hand. Kate took it and swinging her legs off the bed, she stood also. He pulled her into his arms and simply held her for a moment, enjoying the feel of her. The shirt she was still wearing was partially open and he reached his hands to her waist and slipping beneath the shirt, he let his hands feel her skin finally. At first, she was content to just stand in his arms, her hands wandering along his skin but soon she was dropping little kisses on his collarbone and neck.

"Shower," he mumbled.

Kate pulled herself away from him and led the way to the bathroom where she turned on the shower. Once she was happy with the temperature of the water, she slipped the shirt from her shoulders, letting it pool at her feet. She looked over her shoulder at Rick then stepped into the warm spray of water.

"You coming?" she asked with a small smile, her double meaning obvious this time.

"Soon. Very soon and hopefully often," he said smiling at her laughter. He watched her for a moment as she put soap on a pouf and started to bathe. Rick suspected that she was still a bit embarrassed about her nudity and was trying to cover it up a bit with bubbles. He dropped his boxers and stepped into the shower behind her.

"Can I help?" he asked after he reached around from behind her to take the pouf from her hand.

"I thought this was supposed to be about you," she said as she leaned back to feel his erection pressing against her.

"Getting to soap you up and touch you like this? Trust me, it works for me," he said with a smile.

Kate let him soap her up and learn her body with his hands some before she took the pouf back from him, needing to touch him. She added some more soap and then turned in his embrace to face him.

"Do you want help or would you like to 'handle this' on your own?" she asked him.

"Whichever you prefer," he said after a moment of just looking into her green eyes.

Rick wasn't disappointed when he watched her squeeze the pouf and let soap bubbles dribble down his chest. Tossing the pouf aside she then ran her hands along his chest and soon went lower, much to his delight. She leaned close, lips just grazing his ear.

"Show me what you like," she whispered as her hand stopped just south of his navel.

Rick's hand reached out and lightly grasping her wrist, he pulled her hand lower until she finally touched the part he desperately wanted her to touch. She wrapped her fingers around his erection and her lips twitched with a smile as his entire body trembled from her touch. His other hand shot out and knocked over her shampoos and other soaps before he found solid purchase against the wall.

Rick led her hand in its movements, showing her without words how he liked to be touched. Soon, he released her hand and let her take control. Unsure what to do with that hand, he finally settled on holding onto the shower curtain rod. His breathing labored as she nibbled along his shoulder, leaving love bites as she worked her way up to his neck then his ear. Her hands were busy, one cupping him and the other stroking his length. Kate leaned in closer to him, making sure her breasts were flush against his slick chest, and whispered in his ear.

"I want you to come for me, Rick."

Rick's head dropped to her shoulder and he wrapped one arm around her pulling her even tighter. He moaned with pleasure then as he thought about whose hand was bringing him to climax, he called her name softly before wrapping the other arm around her also. Unfortunately, he forgot he was holding on to the shower rod and he managed to pull it off the wall. He was so lost to the pleasures that her hands were bringing him though, he didn't even notice.


	9. Chapter 8b

Part 8b

They just stood there for a moment, Rick's face nuzzled into Kate's neck as she lightly ran one hand along his back. She was rather surprised with his silence so she leaned back a bit to look into his face. He would not meet her eyes though. She reached up behind her, grabbed the handheld showerhead, and slowly let it rinse away the soap still covering Rick and her. She kept one hand on Rick the entire time knowing that she wasn't able to stop touching him.

She was just so intrigued at this quiet version of Rick Castle. She had thought that he would be just as talkative or even more so after what they just did but he was silent. When they were nearly rinsed off she finally had to speak.

"So, Rick. Is this all I need to do to get you to shut up?" she joked, finally he met her eyes.

"Yes," he smiled at her. "Feel free to do that whenever you want to. Hey, what happened to the shower curtain?" he asked totally perplexed.

"You sort of ripped it off the wall during the main event."

"I did? Sorry, I'll um, fix it," he promised looking rather embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. This time," she said seductively. "The water is getting cold, let's head back to bed."

They stepped out of the shower avoiding the shower curtain on the floor. Kate reached for a towel, quickly dried off then wrapped it around herself as Rick grabbed the other towel. She watched him carefully as he dried off, then wrapped the towel around his waist, still a bit quiet. Once they were dry, she took his hand and led him back to the bedroom. She leaned down, pulled the sheet back and stood back up into his arms.

"Are you okay?" she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him. "You're awfully quiet. Are you embarrassed?"

"No. I just," he sighed and pulled her closer. "I normally don't let it be all about me."

"It wasn't all about you though."

"Did you have a, uh, main event when I wasn't looking?" he asked as he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"No," she smiled. "Did you enjoy watching me while I handled things?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"And I enjoyed watching you and helping you," she said as she trailed one finger down his chest to lightly cup him through the towel.

"I certainly enjoyed you doing that too. But next time, I want us to share the main event together."

"So do I," she said.

Rick's lips twitched slightly before he leaned down slightly and pressed his lips to hers. He was thinking about how there was going to be a next time. Kate's hand reached up a bit and slipped under the edge of the towel before she tugged it off. Rick stepped even closer to her, one leg slipping between hers, one hand low on her back. He leaned her down to the bed, keeping possession of her lips the entire time.

"You are so beautiful," he said once he broke the kiss.

They scooted up on the bed further then resting his weight on one arm, Rick reached out and slowly pulled the towel away from her, letting him see her unhidden by clothes or bubbles for the first time. He leaned back to just look at her for a moment before he slowly reached out and let his hands lightly touch her. Starting at her shoulders, he ran his hands down her arms then back up, along her collarbones and down her sternum, missing her breasts before his hands splayed out over her ribs and towards her hips. His thumbs barely touched the curls at the juncture of her thighs before they traced along the outside of her long slender legs. Her legs spread of their own accord as Rick slowly eased them as he ran his hands back up along the inside of her legs, stopping momentarily to tickle behind her knees before continuing their journey. Kate moaned when he pulled her hands away, her green eyes darting to his blue ones full of desire.

"Now I get to kiss you all over," he mumbled into her ear before following the path his hands had taken with lips.

Kate watched him as his lips kissed their way across her body only stopping when he reached her knees. She drew in a quick breath as he nipped her. He smiled a bit as he worked his way up the other leg, nipping at her other knee along the way. Once again he skipped over the one part that she really wanted him to touch, causing her to moan slightly in dismay.

"What's wrong? Do you want me to kiss you more here?" he asked as he nibbled on her neck.

"Mm-hmm."

"Or maybe here?" he asked as he lightly caressed one of her nipples.

"Mm-hmm," she replied again.

"Or would you rather me kiss you here?" he asked as his hand reached down and lightly cupped her between her legs.

"Yes," she whispered, a gasp released as one finger unerringly found her most sensitive spot.

"All in good time, my dear, all in good time." He leaned up and looked her in the eye and kept the eye contact as he lowered himself to her chest and gently took one nipple between his lips. Kate's eyes fluttered shut and her head dropped back to the pillow as he caressed her with his lips and tongue.

He soon left that breast and kissed his way to the other one. Soon he kissed his way lower and placed one kiss just above her curls he waited until she met his eyes again. Rick was pleased to see the look of anticipation on her face as she lightly moistened her lips with her tongue. He soon was kissing her again, exactly where she wanted him to this time. Kate lightly placed her hand on his head both to gently guide him and because she still felt the need to just touch him.

"Oh, God, Kate you are so wet," he mumbled after a few moments.

"Rick, I need you inside of me," she said gasping as he twitched the finger that was indeed inside of her. "No, I need you inside of me."

"Not yet," he said much to her dismay before he lowered his lips to her slick skin again.

"Rick!" she gasped.

"You said you could have multiples, I want to see you come apart in my arms again. If I'm doing it right that is," he smiled as he quirked one eyebrow.

"Oh, trust me, you are," she whispered as his fingers continued their assault on her sensitive skin, joined again by his lips and tongue.

Moments later, he could feel her body tensing up, just as she had before when she climaxed with just her fingers. Rick flicked his tongue against her clit and crooked his finger inside of her sending her completely over the edge. He moved a bit but continued to kiss and caress her gently as the waves of pleasure slowly subsided.

He eased his way up her body, pressing his weight on her, letting her feel him and his erection against her thigh.

"You are so very beautiful," he said.

"Nightstand," was all that she was able to say letting him know where some protection was kept.

He tried to reach the nightstand without moving from on top of her but they had moved too far to the other side of the bed. He reluctantly rolled off of her then reached for the drawer. He reached in the drawer intending to pull out a condom but his fingers stopped as they brushed something else.

"Shall we try this now?" he said as he flopped to his back and holding up the not too unexpected item.

"No," she said seeing the slight disappointment on his face. "I'd rather save that for some other time."

"Next time we are going to try this out," he said as he held up the toy that he bought for her.

"I think I have enough to handle with just you," she smiled at him as she took the foil package from his hand. She opened the package and with a gentle touch she rolled the condom down his length. Kate leaned over and gave him a steamy kiss, causing him to reach out and pull her on top of him. She swung one leg over him and breaking the kiss she sat up, straddling his lower stomach. Rick's hands moved to her knees then slipped up to her hips, gently pushing her back.

"Impatient, aren't you, Rick?" she asked.

"Yes," he groaned. "I want to be inside you now."

"Good," she said as she raised herself up then letting his hands move her. At first, she simply rubbed herself against him before reaching down with one hand to guide him inside her. Rick's hand joined hers and soon he was sheathed in her. Hands once again on her hips, Rick held her still for a moment, both of them just wanting to feel and enjoy the new sensations flowing through them.

Kate rested her hands on his forearms, balancing herself against him. She began moving slowly, much to Rick's dismay, he wanted her to move faster. Kate would lift herself up until he was nearly out of her before she lowered herself on him again, squeezing him with her internal muscles. Finally, he wasn't able to wait anymore and he pulled her down to his lips in a passionate kiss. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he quickly rolled them over.

"So impatient," she said when she realized that he wanted to be in control of the speed of their lovemaking.

"I've waited years for this, I think that's pretty patient," he said.

Kate wanted to say something but was unable to so she just reached her hand up and lightly touched his face. He turned his head to kiss her palm as he began to thrust his hips. He started slowly but soon picked up speed, her little moans and gasps encouraging him as he tried to let this play out for as long as it could. He slipped one hand between them and lightly pressed his thumb against the side of her clit.

"Oh, Rick," she gasped as her muscles suddenly contracted around him.

"Kate," he whispered as he felt the beginnings of his orgasm. Even though he had wanted to watch her again, he was unable to and he dropped his head to her shoulder, kissing and sucking on her glistening skin.

"Rick," she began chanting his name until she grabbed him tightly and buried her face in his neck.

Their bodies shuddering in delight, they didn't move for a while until he had to roll over. Stumbling to the bathroom, he disposed of the condom before returning to the bed and pulling her back into his arms against his chest.

"Kate, you are…" he paused a moment. "Extraordinary doesn't even begin to cover it."

"You aren't so bad yourself, Rick," she said as she pulled his arms tighter around her.

They both fell silent for a while before she finally spoke again. "You said you've been waiting for years."

"Yes. At first, I thought it would just be a onetime thing. I knew it would be good but I never imagined how good. And I can imagine a lot," he said with a smile and a kiss to her neck.

"I don't do onetime things, Rick," she said tensing up a bit.

"I know and I didn't mean to imply that you did," he said glad that she immediately relaxed into his arms again. "That was just after the first case, once I got to know you better, I knew that anything with you would be so much more than a one-night stand. And I knew that I had to wait for that."

"But you've been with other women since we met. You were with Gina," she said trying not to sound too jealous.

"I know, that wasn't such a good idea but I was trying to get over someone who was going away with a robbery detective for the holiday weekend," he said as he squeezed a bit tighter.

"I broke it off with Demming before you left. I was trying to tell you when Gina walked in," she finally admitted to him.

"Oh Kate," Rick said as he eased back, letting her roll to her back, then looking into her eyes, he apologized. "I am so sorry."

"I was so mad at you. And so embarrassed," she said and seeing the look of pain on his face she propped herself up on one elbow to lightly kiss him before she continued. "Don't worry I forgave you though. I let you come back, didn't I?"

"And I am so glad you did." Rick eased back onto the bed and pulled her against his chest again. She rested her head against his shoulder, lightly running her hand across his nearly bare chest.

"I've been thinking about this for a while too, Rick. Remember how I told you I wanted someone to dive in with?"

"Yeah," he said as he stopped her wandering hand with his own, holding it against his heart.

"I'm ready to dive in with you."

* * *

><p>AN: Okay, ready for a cold shower now? Just don't rip the shower curtain off the wall like Castle did.<p>

I wanted to thank you all again for the great response on this story. I have over 12,000 hits on this so far, 31 favorites and 100 alerts. And even better, I have 103 reviews which is the most that I have had for any story so far. That just gives me the warm fuzzies and makes me want to go and see if I can brain storm the little plot bunny of an idea I had and see if it can become an epilogue…


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